Weft controlled loom stopping mechanism



NOV. 1, J. REGAN WEFT CONTROLLED LOOM STOPPING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 1'7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor John Reqan Attorney Nov. 1, 193-8. J. REGAN I 2,134,842

WEFT CONTROLLED LOOM STOPPING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Jshn. Reqan Attorney Patented Nov. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES WEFT CONTROLLED LOOM STOPPING MECHANISM John Regan, New Bedford, Mass., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester,

Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 17, 1938, Serial No. 185,321

9 Claims.

This invention relates to weft controlled loom stopping mechanism and it is the general object of the invention to provide a simple means for stopping the loom through the warp stop motion 6 when the weft in the running shuttle is substantially exhausted.

Certain types of fabrics employing very fine weft can be efiiciently woven on a semi-automatic loom having a weft detector which will indicate approaching exhaustion and actuate or control some form of loom stopping mechanism. In such looms it is desirable to have a Warp stop motion and it is an important object of my present invention to set the timing of warp stop motion so that it will cooperate properly with the detector.

The warp stop motion shown for illustrative purposes is similar to that set forth in my Reissue Patent No. 14,829 and adapted with a knock-off motion such as shown in Holmes Pat ent No. 1,360,638 and Gordon Patent No. 1,577,711. In this type of warp stop motion there is a noncircular rod extending through slots in a bank of drop wires, together with means to rock the rod yieldingly and stop the loom if rocking is resisted by a fallen drop wire. There is ordinarily considerable latitude allowed the weaver in the setting of the cam which rocks the rods, but in adapting this form of motion to my present invention I give the rods a warp detecting movement at the time the weft detector is detecting the weft, that is, on alternate front center positions of the lay.

It is a further object of my present invention to provide a controller moving with the warp stop motion rods and traversing a given path which is at one side of an interrupter controlled by the weft detector. When the weft detector indicates approaching exhaustion it moves the interrupter into the path of the controller and prevents the latter from returning to its normal position, thereby causing the warp stop motion to stop the loom,

In order that the interrupter may be reset without attention from the weaver I arrange to lift the same into the aforesaid path of the controller at a point spaced slightly from one end of the path. As the controller moves to that end of its stroke prior to operation of the weft detector it passes beyond the interrupter and, is held in that position sufiiciently long to permit operation of the weft detector mechanism. Should the interrupter then be moved into the path of the controller the interrupter will be 65' held in that position by frictional engagement with the controller until the loom has completed almost two picks, at which time the controller will again be moving to the aforesaid end of its path away from the interrupter and the latter is free to fall back to normal position.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a loom having my invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view on an enlarged scale of the detector and interrupter and looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a detailed vertical section on line 33 of Fig. 2, and

Figs. 4 and 5 are end and front elevations, respectively, of the warp stop motion which I employ.

Referring to the drawings, the loom frame [0 supports a lay ll having a shuttle box l2 to receive the shuttle S. A crank connector I3 driven by a crank shaft l4 reciprocates the lay in the usual manner. The picking mechanism not shown throws the shuttle first to one side and then the other so that the shuttle will be on any given side of the loom on alternate beats only.

A shipper handle 20 of the usual construction is arranged to be pulled off or moved to stopping position by a rod 2| extending through a forward guide 22 and projecting rearwardly to be connected to a rockable lever 23 of the warp stop motion designated generally at W. The warp stop motion may be the same as set forth in the aforesaid identified patents and as shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5 herein.

A cam 25 on the bottom shaft 26 has a lobe 21 to actuate a cam lever 28 pivoted as at 29 to the loom frame. The bottom shaft is geared by means not shown to the top of crank shaft [4, the latter having one revolution for each beat of the loom while the bottom shaft requires two beats of the loom for a complete revolution. A regularly reciprocating actuator rod 30 extends upwardly from the lever 28 and is pivoted to a driving lever 3|. A hook 32 on the lever 3! is moved back and forth along a given path which normally clears a dog 33 pivoted on rockable lever 23. When the dog is down rocking of lever 3| is ineffective to stop the loom.

The non-circular rods 35 for the warp stop motion pass through drop wires D the upper ends of which are formed with restricted slots 36 wide enough to receive the rods when the slab sides thereof are vertical but narrow enough to prevent rocking of the rods. By means of a spring and rod designated at 31 motion of lever 3| is communicated yieldingly to a lever 40 connected by a link 4| to a series of arms 42. The lever 40 and each arm is connected to a rod 35, rocking of said lever 40 and arms requiring oscillation of the rods. The dog 33 is pivoted as at 44 to the lever 23 and when the detector rods 35 are all free to rotate the dog falls out of the path of the hook 32. When the rods 35 are held against rocking by a fallen drop wire the dog 33 remains in the path of the hook 32 to cause lever 23 to rock about its axis 45, on which lever 3| is also pivoted, and move the rod 2| rearwardly, thereby moving the shipper handle to stopping position.

The warp stop motion may be of the usual form as set forth in the patents already mentioned, the only change being the setting of the cam 25 which controls the lever 28 so that the link 4| reaches its forward position a short time prior to front center position of the lay on alternate or weft detecting beats of the loom.

The weft detector comprises a finger 50 movable about a sliding pivot 5| and having a forward arm 52 normally held in the position shown in Fig. 2 when the finger moves forwardly by engagement with a sufficient supply of weft and against the action of spring 53. An actuator 55 pivoted at 56 is positioned for engagement with the arm 52 and whenever the detector indicates Weft exhaustion, as by a movement of the finger 50 along an empty bobbin B in a direction away from the pivot 5|, the actuator will be moved from the full to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3. For further details of the detector reference may be had to patent to Payne No. The detector of itself forms no part of my present invention.

The matter thus far described may be as set forth in the aforesaid patents, the detector finger moving forwardly on alternate beats of the loom when sufficient weft is present and allowing the actuator 55 to remain substantially unmoved. The cam lobe 21 controls the lever 28 in such a way that the link 4| is forward a short time prior to the start of the detecting operation of finger 50. When weft is substantially exhausted the finger 50 slides along the bobbin and rocks about the pivot 5| to move the actuator to 'the left, as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

In carrying my present invention into effect I provide a simplified connection between the detector and the warp stop motion including an interrupter 60 guided by a fixed upright 6| and a plate 62 mounted on a stand 63 and held by bolt 64 to any convenient stationary part of the loom, such as the shipper handle guide 65. A pin 56 extends through the interrupter for engagement with the upright 6| to limit downward motion of said interrupter. The latter normally assumes the full line position shown in Fig. 3, acting by its weight to hold the actuator 55 in upright full line position in Fig. 3 close to the detector arm 52.

The stand 63 has a rear wall 10 through which extends a controller rod 1| pivoted as at 72, Fig. 4, to the link 4|. The forward end of rod H extends through a hole in the wall 10 and is bent down as at T6.

In Fig. 2 the rod H is drawn in its extreme for-' ward position to which it is moved by action of dwell 69 of cam 21 prior to the detecting operation of the feeler finger 5B. The lobe 2? is comparatively narrow and effects a detecting operation of the rods 35 and rearward movement of rod 1| when the lay is in substantially front center position on detecting beats of the loom. The bent end 75 therefore moves backwardly and forwardly in a given path which is normally at one side of the interrupter 60 as shown in full lines in Fig. 3.

When the rods 35 are as shown in Fig. 4 rod H is forward and the warp stop motion is just about to start a detecting operation effected by rearward motion of link 4| to turn the rods 35 counter-clockwise. The detecting stroke of the warp stop motion, therefore, occurs when rod H is moving rearwardly, induced by rising of lever 28.

The part 60 moves into the path of the controller end 16 when the feeler indicates exhaustion by the action of arm 52 and actuator 55, and is held in that path by the detector finger sufliciently long to interrupt the rearward motion of the control rod "II. In this position the interrupter will be in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3 and the lever 49 and links 42 will be held in a position corresponding to a fallen drop wire. The loom will thereupon stop as previously described and the weaver replenishes the shuttle S manually.

During loom stoppage the rearward pressure of lever H will hold the interrupter in raised position by its frictional contact therewith, but upon resuming weaving the cam will again move the rod H forwardly, thereby releasing the interrupter and the latter will fall by gravity clear of the path of the controller end 16.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple form of connection between the Weft detector and warp stop motion for the purpose of stopping the loom at the near approach of weft exhaustion. It will be seen that this connection includes a gravity actuated in-' terrupter which cooperates with a controller movable with the detector rods of the warp stop motion. Whenever the controller is free to move the detector rods 35 oscillate in their usual manner and are free to respond to drop wires which may fall because of warp fault. When the interrupter is moved into the path of the controller the warp stop motion will act as though a drop wire had fallen because of the retention of the rods 35 with their slabbed sides vertical. It will also be seen that the interrupter moves into a path of the controller end 16 near the forward end of this path, thereby permitting release and resetting of the interrupter when loom running is resumed and the cam moves the controller to the forward limit of its path. Furthermore, the weight of the interrupter holds the actuator 55 in normal position for movement by the detector.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In loom stopping mechanism, a stop motion having a regularly moving part and effective to stop the loom when the motion of said part is interrupted, weft detector mechanism having an indicating motion when detecting a substantially exhausted supply of weft, a controller connected to and deriving motion from said part and mov- 75 ing in a path having two extremes, and an interrupter normally out of said path to be moved by the detector when indicating Weft exhaustion into said path at a point adjacent to an extreme of said path, the interrupter thereby preventing motion of said part to cause the stop motion to stop thev loom.

2. In loom stopping mechanism, a stop motion for the loom having a part movable in one direction on a stopping stroke and movable in the opposite direction on the return stroke, a Weft detector having an indicating motion when detecting insuflicient weft, a controller connected to and moved by said part and having stopping and return strokes corresponding to the stopping and return strokes of said part, and an interrupter normally out of the path of movement of said controller and movable by the detector when the latter has an indicating motion into the path of said controller at a point adjacent to the end of the return stroke to prevent said controller from having a stopping stroke, the interrupter thereby preventing the stopping stroke of said part.

3. In loom stopping mechanism, a stop motion for the loom including a part having a stopping strike which if interrupted causes said stop motion to stop the loom, said part also having a return stroke in the opposite direction, a weft detector to indicate weft exhaustion when detecting insufficient weft, a controller connected to and moved by said part in a given path, an. interrupter normally out of said path, and means controlled by the detector when the latter has an indicating motion to move the interrupter into said path after the part has completed the return stroke thereof, the interrupter thereby preventing the stopping stroke of the part to effect loom stoppage through the stop motion.

l. In loom stopping mechanism, a stop motion for the loom including a part having a stopping stroke which if interrupted causes said stop motion to stop the loom, said part also having a return stroke in the opposite direction, a weft detector to indicate weft exhaustion when detecting insufficient weft, a controller moving with said part and moving in a path having two eX- tremes, an interrupter normally out of said path, means to cause the part to have a return stroke prior to a detecting operation of the detector and thereafter have a stopping stroke, said detector when having an indicating motion moving the in,- terrupter into said path after the controller has started motion from one extreme to the other on its return stroke and before said controller moves from said other extreme to the first named extreme on a stopping stroke, said interrupter thereby preventing a stopping stroke of said part to cause the stop motion to stop the loom.

5. In loom stopping mechanism, a stop motion for the loom including a part having a stopping stroke which if interrupted causes said stop motion to stop the loom, said part also having a return stroke in the opposite direction, a weft detector to indicate weft exhaustion when detecting insuiiicient weft, means to give said part a complete return stroke prior to a detecting operation of the detector, a controller connected to said part and having stopping and return strokes corresponding to similar strokes of said part, and an interrupter normally out of the. path of said controller and movable into said path by the detector when the latter has an indicating movement subsequent to completion of the return stroke and prior to the working stroke of said controller, said interrupter thereby preventing a working stroke of said part to cause the stop motion to stop the loom.

6. In loom stopping mechanism, a stop motion for the loom including a part having a stopping stroke which if interrupted causes said stop motion to stop the loom, said part also having a return stroke in the opposite direction, a weft de tector to indicate Weft exhaustion when detecting insufficient Weft, means to give said part a return stroke prior to a detecting operation of the detector and to start a stopping stroke of said part during a detecting operation of said detector, a controller connected to and moved by said part and movable along a given path to have stopping and return strokes similar to the strokes of said part, and an interrupter normally out of said path and movable by the detector when the latter has an indicating motion into said path after the completion of the return stroke of said controller and prior to the completion of the succeedin stopping stroke of said controller, said interrupter thereby preventing the part from having a stopping stroke and thereby cause the stop motion to stop the loom.

'7. In loom stopping mechanism, a stop motion for the loom including a part having a stopping stroke which if interrupted causes said stop motion to stop the loom, said part also having a re turn stroke in the opposite direction, a weft detector to indicate weft exhaustion when detecting insufficient weft, means to give said part a return stroke prior to a detecting operation of the detector and to start a stopping stroke of said part during a detecting operation of said detector, a controller connected to and moved by said part and movable along a given path to have stopping and return strokes similar to the strokes of said part, and a gravity controlled interrupter normally out of said path to be lifted into said path by the detector when the latter has an indicating movement subsequent to the completion of a return stroke of said controller and prior to the completion of the next succeeding stopping stroke of said controller, the latter being held by the interrupter and prevented thereby from having a complete stopping stroke and the controller also holding the interrupter in lifted position, the interrupter thereby being effective to prevent a complete stopping stroke of said part to cause the stop motion to stop the loom, said means subsequently moving the controller away from the interrupter on a return stroke of said controller and said interrupter thereupon returning to a position out of said path by gravity.

8. In loom stopping mechanism, a stop motion for the loom including a part having a stopping stroke which if interrupted causes said stop motion to stop the loom, said part also having a return stroke in the opposite direction, a weft detector to indicate weft exhaustion when de tecting insufficient weft, a controller connected to and movable by said part and having stopping and return strokes along a given path similar to the strokes of said part, a gravity controlled interrupter normally out of said path, means defining an inclined guide for said interrupter up which the latter is capable of movement toward said path and down which said interrupter moves away from said path, the detector when having a detecting movement moving the interrupter up said incline into the path of said controller to cause the latter to interrupt a stopping stroke of the controller and thereby cause the stop motion to stop the loom due to interruption of a stopping stroke of said part, the controller on a subsequent return stroke moving away from the interrupter and the latter thereupon moving down the incline away from said path.

9. In loom stopping mechanism, a stop motion for the loom including a part having a stopping stroke which if interrupted causes said stop motion to stop the loom, said part also having a return stroke in the opposite direction, a weft detector to indicate weft exhaustion when dotecting insufficient weft, a controller connected to and moved in a given path by said part and having stopping and return strokes similar to: the strokes of said part, an interrupter normally out of said path, means to cause said interrupter to rise when moving toward said path, and an actuator between the detector and the interrupter movable by the detector when the latter has an indicating movement to raise the interrupter into said path to prevent a complete stopping stroke of said controller and thereby prevent said part from having a complete stopping stroke to cause the stop motion to stop the loom, said controller on a subsequent return stroke moving away from said interrupter and the latter thereupon being free to fall by gravity toward a position out of said path and at the same time act by the weight thereof to return said actuator to normal position.

JOHN REGAN. 

